Battle lines drawn for A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez hit 42 home runs and had 46 stolen bases in 1998, becoming just the third player in the vaunted 40-40 club. He was set up to soak the Seattle Mariners in salary arbitration, except for one detail: against the advice of his agent, Scott Boras, Rodriguez had let the Mariners buy out all his arbitration years.

On his 21st birthday, two years earlier, Rodriguez had signed a four-year, $10.6 million deal, believing he could secure his family's financial future and wait until free agency to cash in with a monster contract.

"He probably cost himself $30 million," Boras said. "My advice to him was that he was best served by going year by year, but Alex had a number of reasons why he wanted to take that contract. It's illustrative that Alex is the captain of his ship."

The Yankees can only hope that Rodriguez goes his own way again, because they have said they will not negotiate with him if he opts out of his contract and becomes a free agent. And Boras has been adamant Rodriguez deserves to explore his options, just as Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and other free agents may do.

"One thing you can't expect to do is take away the right of free agency from the player," Boras said. "We're not saying we won't negotiate with anybody if he chooses to opt out. We're saying we'll negotiate with them.

"The Yankees aren't saying that if Posada or Rivera become free agents, they won't negotiate with them. So how can they treat Alex any differently if he becomes a free agent? As far as rights go, you can't take a player whose stature is so valuable and say, 'For two of your teammates, we will deal with them as free agents, but with you, we can't.' "

The difference with Rodriguez is that the Yankees are getting a $30 million subsidy from the Texas Rangers to pay for the final three years of his existing contract. Recognizing his leverage, the Yankees will offer Rodriguez a lucrative extension before the opt-out date, 10 days after the end of the World Series. If Rodriguez opts out instead, his existing contract disappears, and with it the money from the Rangers. In effect, Rodriguez would cost the Yankees $30 million simply by invoking his right to talk with other teams.

Boras would not say directly what kind of deal he is seeking for Rodriguez, who is 32. But he almost certainly wants at least $30 million a season, and he could ask for a contract that takes Rodriguez well into his 40s. He cited Rodriguez's conditioning habits, saying he has the body of a 25-year-old.

"Barry Bonds, at 38 years old, signed a five-year deal," Boras said, citing a precedent.

Yankees officials seem to believe the market would collapse if they dropped from the bidding because so few teams could pay what Boras is seeking. Boras, in turn, contends Rodriguez is essential to the Yankees' business plan and that they cannot risk losing him, even if he opts out.

"The Yankees had made the World Series in six of eight years, winning four times, with Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Clemens, Pettitte, all of them, and they were drawing three million-plus," Boras said. "When Alex came, all of a sudden they're drawing 4.3 million."

The Yankees' attendance rose by about 300,000 from 2003 to 2004, Rodriguez's first season with the team, and it has climbed steadily to a record 4.27 million this season. The Yankees do not share Boras' view that their attendance or the success of their network is tied to Rodriguez.

The Yankees and Rodriguez have not begun negotiating. General Manager Brian Cashman said he would get his budget guidelines at the team's organizational meetings, which start Monday in Tampa.

The strategy for keeping Rodriguez will be among the major items to be discussed at the meetings. The most pressing issue is the future of the manager, Joe Torre, whose contract expires at the end of the month.